GCSEs needed for Oxford

I come from a high achieving school, my predicted A levels are A*A*AA (econ, politics, maths, Spanish), but my gcse grades are quite average, as follows: 888877777766. Do i have a chance of getting into Oxford for PPE, and how much will my gcses hinder me

Reply 1

anonymous.2003

13

Original post by mahis06

I come from a high achieving school, my predicted A levels are A*A*AA (econ, politics, maths, Spanish), but my gcse grades are quite average, as follows: 888877777766. Do i have a chance of getting into Oxford for PPE, and how much will my gcses hinder me

im in year 11 but i wanna go into med there so i looked at sm stats and it said the avg successful med applicant has around 10 to 11 8-9s at gcse but i think u should check out what the figure is for ppe cos it might be a bit lower. however ik tht oxford takes into consideration ur personal statement as well as ur gcses when shortlisting candidates for interviews.

Reply 2

TypicalNerd

18

Original post by mahis06

I come from a high achieving school, my predicted A levels are A*A*AA (econ, politics, maths, Spanish), but my gcse grades are quite average, as follows: 888877777766. Do i have a chance of getting into Oxford for PPE, and how much will my gcses hinder me

Oxford cares far more about interview performance, A level predictions (yours are excellent, by the way) and entrance exam scores.

Granted, GCSE grades are used, but typically, they view 8’s and 9’s as equivalent, so I don’t think your GCSE grades are likely to be a hinderance.

Besides, if you don’t apply, you have a 0% chance of getting in- irrespective of your grades.

Reply 3

cephalothin

13

Original post by mahis06

I come from a high achieving school, my predicted A levels are A*A*AA (econ, politics, maths, Spanish), but my gcse grades are quite average, as follows: 888877777766. Do i have a chance of getting into Oxford for PPE, and how much will my gcses hinder me

GCSE grades are not a driving force in admission to Oxford. Rather, if for argument's sake, you and another candidate are of equal calibre, they may compare your GCSE grades to decide who is shortlisted for an interview.

The subjects you study are good — only 11% of applicants who did not study A level Mathematics received an offer of admission for PPE, and this tends to be the downfall of a lot of candidates.

Your predicted grades are also good — the majority of applicants shortlisted for an interview will be predicted A*A*A - A*A*A*.

Now, combine this with a good TSA score, you will be invited to an interview. It is your performance on the TSA and the interview that will be weighed the most in deciding whether or not to offer you a place of admission — certainly not your GCSE grades.

The average Oxford applicant is inherently above average. It is their performance on the admissions test and the interviews that are supposed to distinguish them from this average.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

emilyalexandria

9

Original post by TypicalNerd

Oxford cares far more about interview performance, A level predictions (yours are excellent, by the way) and entrance exam scores.

Granted, GCSE grades are used, but typically, they view 8’s and 9’s as equivalent, so I don’t think your GCSE grades are likely to be a hinderance.

Besides, if you don’t apply, you have a 0% chance of getting in- irrespective of your grades.

The point about GCSEs here is important, I think. For PPE, a cGCSE score is calculated using the number of 8/9's you achieved compared to others at the same school. This is the figure they actually use in shortlisting, so the distinction between 8/9 is minimal.

As for admissions tests, these tend to be weighed equally with GCSE results in shortlisting. Those GCSEs with a good TSA score would almost definitely get you an interview.

There's some more information in this document:
https://www.ppe.ox.ac.uk/files/ppeadmissions2021-22informationforapplicantsfinalpdf

GCSEs needed for Oxford

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